Time's on our hands
by Inlovewithcomedy99
Summary: Post series 8. AU to series 9. After the angels have been cast from Heaven, the Winchester's, along with a human Castiel, a semi-cured Crowley and a elusive Naomi try to find a way to re-open the gates of Heaven and solve all the other problems that plague them. Full summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

**I've recently been re-watching all of** _ **Supernatural**_ **from the very start and it has made me want to write something and after reading probably every Crowley/Naomi story I have found (which was sadly not enough to satisfy my craving), this idea began to take shape.**

 **This story will be set after the season 8 finale and its main focus will be on Crowley and Naomi (with a little Dean/Cas thrown in because I just couldn't resist it) and Naomi did not die after being stabbed by Metatron. This will have little references to season 9 (Because I haven't actually seen it yet *hides face in shame*) and so I'm making my own version of events.**

 **After all the angels have been cast out and fallen from heaven, and Abbadon threatens to take over hell, the Winchesters and the newly human Castiel reluctantly join forces with Crowley and Naomi in order to save the world once again. This time they seek out the help of one of the most powerful forces in existence, that not even the Fates or Death would dare to cross. Time itself.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any of its characters (If I did none of my favourite characters would have died and Ellen and Bobby would be married) I'm just borrowing them for a while for my amusement.**

Trapped. Bloody. Dirty. Powerless. This was not how Crowley expected to spend his evening, tied up in the Winchester's basement and feeling worse than he had since he was a human soul being tortured in Hell. He had so many things he could be doing. There were several disobedient demons he was looking forward to torturing and then decorating the wall of his kingdom with their insides. Mind you, if things carried on the way they were and Abbadon got her way then his kingdom would no longer be _his,_ as he would no longer be King of Hell. Or alive. Everything he worked so hard to build would simply crumble into a bloodthirsty chaos. Not that it wasn't bloodthirsty, but at least it had some order.

It wasn't just work that consumed his attention. He got a glimpse, before he was shoved unceremoniously into the trunk of the Impala, of hundreds (maybe even thousands) of fiery orbs illuminating the sky and plummeting towards the earth. The angels had fallen. He had hoped to grab a bottle of his favourite drink, Craig, and sit back and watch the show. Then maybe he would search out a particular bureaucratic angel and he'd…

The sound of shuffling, a loud crash and then an equally loud curse brought Crowley from his musing. He grinned sarcastically, "The boys are back!" He muttered to no one in particular.

After making sure that he was secure in his bonds, and Sam was placed into one of the bedrooms, Dean had left to presumably go and find his angel boyfriend. Judging by the sounds and the dulled presence Crowley could feel, his search had been successful. Boredom and curiosity lead Crowley to listen in on their conversation, thankful that his supernatural hearing had not been affected by the predicament in which he found himself.

"There you go, easy Cas." Came Dean's gruff voice, concern making it deeper. There was then the sound of a chair scrapping across the concrete floor, and a creak as he presumed Castiel sat in it. "Jesus Cas, what happened?"

"The angels have fallen." Castiel sounded, if it was possible, remorseful, "Metatron managed to complete the trials and cast us all out of Heaven."

"So Naomi was right. About Metatron. About you." Dean's voice began to become hysterical with rage.

Cas paused before answering. "It would appear she was correct about Metatron's plan to banish us all from our home as we did him." He took a breath then added, "And she was correct about me being…"

"His bitch?"

"I was going to say being used."

"Dammit Cas." There was a loud thump. _Squirrel throwing a tantrum. "_ How is it that you get screwed over every time by these dicks? God, so what, you're fallen now?"

Crowley waited for Castiel reply as eagerly as he was sure Dean was. "The final trial required an angels grace and he took mine. Dean by the time I realised what was happening…" He left the sentence.

"Where was Naomi in all this? Why didn't you ask her for help or something?" When Cas didn't reply, Dean snapped "Cas!"

Again Castiel didn't reply immediately, and Crowley began to fell dread rising from a deep forgotten place. "She would not have been able to help me. Not anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"She is dead. Metatron killed her by impaling her drill into her skull." Castiel's voice was void of any emotion.

"Well I suppose it's ironic." Dean gave a humourless laugh, his voice laced with shock. "All the heads she screwed up and then she gets her's cracked open. With her own drill."

Crowley zoned out at that point. He was vaguely aware of the hum of their conversation, and of Sam joining shortly after, but the words fell on deaf ears. She was dead. After everything it was the _fucking scribe of God that killed her._ He wasn't sure what he felt at that moment. Emotions long forgotten ripped through his chest like a demon knife. What were they? Anger? Regret? Sorrow? Either way they made him uncomfortable and he did not like it.

He felt moisture on his face and could taste a metallic salt in his mouth, and briefly wondered if his face was bleeding again. He heard the door creak open and a snap, as the switch was flicked and illuminated the whole room, banishing the shadows to the corners. Standing in the door way was none other than ' _Team Free will'_ Crowley thought sarcastically. Dean was stone faced and pissed off, and both Castiel and Sam looked a little worse for wear, but you can't be picky now days.

Dean stepped forward and grinned, clapping his hands together. "Hey Crow-…" He stopped and took a step closer looking carefully at Crowley's face. "Man, are you crying?"

"No!" _Stupid human emotions…_

"Well then you got a leakage around the eye area…"

"Shut up!"

Dean backed off, with his hands raised in surrender, chuckling in amusement. Sam stepped forward with a concerned look. _Honestly it's amazing how he can still look concerned whilst grimacing._ "Crowley are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine" Crowley cried indignantly, "Anyway why are you worried about me? I mean have you caught a glimpse of yourself recently?"

Sam frowned slightly and Dean stepped forward again, all previous traces of amusement gone. "Listen Crowley, if you know anything about…" He began threateningly.

"Let me tell you before we start dishing out the macho threats," Crowley interrupted. He really wasn't in the mood to trade barbs with these nit wits. He just wanted to be left alone with his…grief? "I. Don't. Know. How. To. Heal. Moose. I don't even know what's wrong with him! These trials were created by big Daddy himself, and since he has taken an indefinite vacation, it seems you're on your own."

Dean growled and shot forward, slamming his fist into Crowley's jaw and pleased to see a fresh pool of blood trickle from the demon's lip. Crowley sighed and gave Dean a mock sympathetic glance. "Feel better now squirrel?"

"Enough." Sam intervened before Dean could take another swing. "We're going to see a couple of hunter's a couple of miles out of town, who might be able to help us with the fallen angels."

"And you're coming with us." Dean smirked.

"What?"

"Well the thing is Crowley," Sam began gently.

"We don't trust you not to pull some 'Great Escape', 'call on one of your bitches' crap." Dean was positively smug at calling the shots over the King of Hell.

Crowley glared at the two and gritted his teeth. "Who do you expect me to call on? And how? I'm trapped her with no communication and unless you've been too wound up in your own problems to notice, Abbadon has all but taken over Hell, and I'm stuck here and can't do anything about it!" His calm façade cracked and he all but screamed the last part at them

Castiel, who had remained silent the whole time, approached Crowley and said, "At the moment the main concern would be to open the gates of Heaven and return the angels. No doubt that they will see Abbadon as a threat and be willing to find a way to get rid of her as quickly as possible."

Crowley would have liked nothing more than to make a snarky remark about how it was _Castiel's_ fault that the angels had fallen and that if _he_ had listened to what other's had said then all the angels would still be sitting in their cloudy home, and not wandering the earth completely powerless, but he held his tongue knowing that it would be more beneficial to him to get the angels back to Heaven, not only to help sort his power struggle with Abbadon, but because the angels would be weak and divided making it easier to manipulate them. Should the need ever arise of course. He turned to the Winchester's and gave them his most devilishly charming smile. "All right then, boys. Shall we get this show on the road?"

 **Well what did you guys think? Please let me know what you think and any thoughts or suggestions you'd like to make.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any of its characters. I'm just a fan who can dream.**

 _ **Previously…**_

 _ **Castiel, who had remained silent the whole time, approached Crowley and said, "At the moment the main concern would be to open the gates of Heaven and return the angels. No doubt that they will see Abbadon as a threat and be willing to find a way to get rid of her as quickly as possible."**_

 _ **Crowley would have liked nothing more than to make a snarky remark about how it was Castiel's fault that the angels had fallen and that if he had listened to what other's had said then all the angels would still be sitting in their cloudy home, and not wandering the earth completely powerless, but he held his tongue knowing that it would be more beneficial to him to get the angels back to Heaven, not only to help sort his power struggle with Abbadon, but because the angels would be weak and divided making it easier to manipulate them. Should the need ever arise of course. He turned to the Winchester's and gave them his most devilishly charming smile. "All right then, boys. Shall we get this show on the road?"**_

The sleek black Impala rolled along the deserted road, completely isolated by dense forest on both sides. Dean Winchester sat in the driver's seat, drumming his fingers and singing along, rather off key, to ACDC's 'Back in black'. There was nothing more in the whole world that he loved more than driving the Impala, with his little brother Sammy by his side, with an array classic rock music waiting for his selection.

Said brother, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was shaking his head ruefully and grinning at his brother's clowning. He laughed as Dean attempted to hit one of the high notes.

"What is this…noise that you are so found of?"

Dean looked in the rear-view mirror, at the ex-angel who was scowling and all put clamping his hands over his ears. "Common Cas," Dean said happily. "ACDC. It's Beautiful music."

"I'm afraid to inform you Dean that that it is not, as you say 'beautiful music'." Castiel managed to use the gestures in the right place, which impressed Sam and Dean. "I have heard the songs of Heaven and this does not even begin to compare."

Sam snorted with laughter as Dean did a double take. "Yeah. But…it's a classic." He muttered lamely.

"Classic my arse!" came a sneer from trunk of the car. "I've heard tortured souls that are more tuneful than this-"

"Hey, shut up Crowley." Dean snapped. "What would you know of music anyway? You live in a pit."

Crowley laughed, "You confuse me with old Lucy. I live in a rather nice 18th Century Manor house with indoor plumbing and the works. And to answer a question a lot more than you think, since I have met many a musician in my time. Made a deal with most of them to mind you."

Dean gawped, opening and closing his mouth and trying to think of a suitable comeback. Sam laughed again and said, "I think you lost this one Dean." To which Dean just turned away and muttered something that sounded a lot like "screw you".

They continued driving in silence for another 15 minutes or so, when the music started to crackle and fade in and out. Dean muttered "What the…", and began pressing the buttons on the radio to no avail.

"Maybe we're just out of range." Sam offered, looking out of the window at the thick forest that surrounded them. "Someone must like us." At that moment the car stalled and came to a stuttering stop. "…Or not."

Dean whacked the steering wheels with his palms, and wrenched open the door, clambering out the car with Sam and Castiel following his actions. Dean stormed to the trunk of the car ripped it open, revealing a demon trap painted with red paint on the inside, and Crowley with his hand cuffed behind him, underneath. He roughly pulled Crowley out of the back and slammed him against the side of the car. "Alright what did you do?" Dean growled dangerously, one hand squeezed around the demon's throat, the other pointing a finger in his face.

"Oh Dean," Crowley gushed sarcastically, "You make me go all weak at the knees when you threaten me."

Dean squeezed his throat tighter. "I'm warning you, Crowley…"

"Please." Crowley rolled his eyes. "I didn't do anything. How could I?"

Castiel moved towards Dean and placed his hand on his shoulder. "It could not have been Crowley's fault. He has been in a Demon trap this whole time, which would render him powerless."

"Cas is right Dean," Sam said soothingly. "I mean, maybe it's just broke down without any supernatural intervention."

Dean raised an eyebrow at Sam and replied, "And when's that ever happened to us before. It's always supernatural intervention."

Before Sam could say anything, a voice from behind them said, "Well then you won't be disappointed." They all turned around to see a man in a dark navy suit and sky blue tie, grinning menacingly at them, his eyes suddenly turning black.

"Hello Doug," Crowley remarked, "good to see you. And before you ask," He turned to Dean, "no I did not summon him."

"No we were sent by our new boss, Abbadon, to pick up any stray angels and bring them to her." He continued to smirk at them. "We got a tip that an angel quite high up fell around here, but think how pleased she'll be when we not only bring her a high ranking angel, but the one who caused all these feathered gits to fall as well, the Winchesters and the ex-king all on one lovely little platter. We'll be rewarded greatly for our services."

Dean chuckled and stepped forward, dropping Crowley as he did. "Hate to burst your bubble, but I don't see any 'we'. I just see you and us, and I think we have the advantage."

Doug grin became broader as ten more demons appeared, forming a circle around them. Slowly, they began to close in like lions hunting their prey.

Dean moved Castiel next to Crowley, and both he and Sam stood in front of the, crouched into a defensive stance, ready for the impending attack. Sam drew his demon knife from his pocket.

"You know if we want to get out of here, which I think we do," Crowley stated. "I'd let me out of these shackles so we have more of a chance."

"Not on your life Crowley." Dean shouted as the first demon lunged and Dean dodged the attack, managing to twist the demon's arm and take its knife and stab it into its neck with ease.

"Come on! We're out numbered and moose looks as though he's going to drop." As he said this, he slammed the chain of his cuffs into a demon's throat, as Castiel grabbed hold of it, and sliced its head clean off. "And I liked this jacket." He groused at the blood stains splattered up the front of it.

Although Sam was able to take out two of the demons with relative ease, a layer of sweat had formed over his forehead and he stumbled, making it easy for the demon he was currently fighting to knock him to the floor. "Sammy!" Dean cried as he quickly pulled his blade out of his own foe and shoved his hand in his pocket and flung a small set of keys to Crowley, before sprinting to assist his brother.

Crowley quickly removed the cuffs and picked up a knife from a fallen demon, and leapt into the fight with a battle cry, taking out three demons before approaching Doug. Behind him, Castiel was helping Dean to dispose of the two demons that were trying to gut Sam. Flicking his knife in the dull light, Crowley quipped, "You really should learn to pick your sides better." Doug then surged forward in a fit of fury and Crowley quickly stabbed him in the heart, watching as an orange light flickered within him as he died. "And assess your opponents better. Goodbye Doug." And with that he let the body fall dramatically to the floor.

He turned back to Dean and Castiel, who were supporting the weight of a semi-conscious Sam between them. "See, trusting can have positive results. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours."

Dean pulled a face and turned to Castiel. "They said they were looking for an angel around here, do you think it's still here or…"

"Of course they're still here," Crowley exclaimed. Turning to Castiel he said, "Can't you feel-. " He cut off and threw his hands in the air in irritation. "Of course you can't, you lost your mojo and now you're about as much use as a pair of frilly knickers on a kiwi fruit!" At that moment it hit him, with such strength that he stumbled and had to grip the Impala for support. He barely heard Dean shout his name, once, twice, three times, for the ringing in his ears. He had not expected to feel this angelic presence ever again in his existence, and now here it was right in front of them. _No, it's not possible. She can't be here._

He hadn't realised that he had spoken aloud until Dean said, "Whoa, whoa back up a bit. What's not possible? Who can't be here?" He looked Dean in the eyes for a second then spun on his heels and stormed into the forest, following the tug he felt with anticipation and dread.

He could faintly hear Dean yelling after him, and then to Castiel "Stay with Sam", but the humming in his ears was growing more intense with every second. He blindly weaved between numerous trees; how far he travelled he was unsure of, before he came to a clearing with a 30foot wide crater in it. The trees surrounding the crater where blackened and burnt to a crisp, leaning away from the crater as though they were trying to tear their roots from the earth and flee. In the centre of the large crater, was a smaller one of about 6feet that cradled a broken and bloodied figure, lying on its front.

He skidded down the dirt made ledge and stumbled over to the figure, kneeling down beside it. He tentatively reached out a hand and with the tips of his fingers brushed back the crusted hair from its face. "Naomi," he breathed. He felt a twang deep within a forgotten part of his chest as he gazed at the face of the fallen angel. ' _Probably something to do with the trials.'_ Crowley thought bitterly _'Stupid humanity…'_

He looked at her again, assessing her injuries. There was a large hole in the back of her skull, and blood had coated and mangled her auburn hair and ran down her face, staining it like several crimson streams. She looked so vulnerable lying there, something that Crowley would never have associated with her.

He gently laid a hand on her shoulder, unsure of this whole predicament. Beneath his hand, he felt a minute flutter of energy. _Her grace._ He allowed a small smirk to tug at the corner on his mouth; she was alive. _But then if anyone would be stubborn enough to survive having their brains exposed to the air, it would be Naomi. Damned bureaucrat._

"Crowley!" His moment of solace was broken as Dean burst into the clearing and staggered down into the crater towards Crowley, eyeing him wearily, fiercely clutching his knife in his hand. "I warned you, you son of a bitch, that if you tried anything I'd put this knife right through your wind pipe."

Crowley rolled his eyes and proceeded to remove his jacket. "Oh don't get bitchy at me." He snapped as he scrunched up the jacket and placed it against the wound on Naomi's head. _Oh well, it was ruined anyway._ "As you can see, I found the angel those knuckle head demons were after. An old friend of your angel's I believe."

Dean did a double take as he regarded at the unconscious angel. "That's impossible. Cas said she was dead. That Metatron…"

"Yeah well that's what I thought to." _Until I felt her grace inside her._ "Her grace is still in there but its weak and fading fast. If she's going to survive then we need to act _now."_ He emphasised the last part, looking the hunter directly in the eye.

Dean scuffed his foot against the dirt, scowling intensely at Naomi. "After what she did to Cas, how can we trust her not to pull something. We'd be safer leaving her here," _to rot._ Although Dean did not say it allowed, Crowley could tell that he wanted to, and for some reason he felt anger flare up inside him. "Listen here you pathetic little creature, you cannot leave Naomi here because a) you're buddy Castiel no doubt has a price on his head and every angel and demon is out to kill, so Naomi will at least be able to hold off any impending angel attacks, b) she is a lot older than Castiel, and of a higher status, so might have more knowledge about how we might reopen the gates of heaven, and c) if Abbadon gets her nasty claws on her, she has the knowledge to take on any angel she chooses. And d) if I'm right, then I believe Naomi still has her mojo so will come in very handy when things get ugly, and believe me they'll get ugly."

Clenching and unclenching his fists, Dean looked from Crowley to Naomi, his mind whirling. Under normal circumstances, Crowley would have taken great joy in pointing out that Dean looked like a petulant child that had been offered only two choices of ice cream, neither of which were favourites, however the longer Dean debated, the fainter Naomi's essence became. Finally, Dean snarled, "Alright, but I'll be watching her." He was about to ask how they we're to get her to the car, when Crowley scooped her up in his arms and arose from the ground, one arm under her knees and the other supporting her head, using the jacket as a cushion.

At Dean's shocked and confused look, Crowley shrugged and said, "What? She's as light as a feather, excusing the pun." He chuckled at his own joke and Dean rolled his eyes and stalked off back the way they came, Crowley close at his heals.

They walked in silence until they reached the impala. Sam was leaning against the hood of the car, and Castiel was standing rigidly next to him, staring straight ahead. He turned and looked at Dean as soon as he emerged from the trees. Sam walked forward, still a little unsteady, and stopped next to Dean. "What happened? Where's Crow…" He stopped dead when he saw Crowley emerge carrying one of the last angels he had expected to see. "Why…"

"What is she doing here?" Castiel interrupted him, his voice laced with venom and his face dark with fury. He stalked forward with a murderous gleam in his eyes, but Dean stepped in his path and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Dean, please get out of my way."

"No Cas," Dean stepped closer, forcing him away from the demon and unconscious angel. "Look, we need her."

"How?"

"For protection, knowledge and to prevent Abbadon getting her." Crowley interjected. Castiel gave him a murderous glare, to which Crowley smiled 'pleasantly' back.

"Crowley's right," Dean choked out with a pained expression. "Think of what Abbadon could do with her. Naomi got into a lot of heads and knows a lot of things."

Castiel observed Dean for a heartbeat, his face void of any emotions, then he said, "Fine." And stalked over to the car and got in, slamming the door behind him.

Sam and Dean shared a bemused look, and Dean shook his head. He turned to Crowley as Sam moved towards the passenger side. "You coming?"

Crowley couldn't resist as he walked past Dean, giving him a sarcastically soft look. "You said I was right. I'm touched." He whispered, which caused Dean to roll his eyes and mutter, "Don't get used to it." Crowley laughed and moved towards the impala, stealing a glance at Naomi. _Maybe things wouldn't be so bleak after all._


	3. Chapter 3

**Because I haven't updated in a while, I've posted two chapters to keep you all going until I get time to write again (which, knowing me, could be quite some time). But hopefully it shouldn't be too long. Hopefully.**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own anything.**

 _ **Previously…**_

 _ **Sam walked forward, still a little unsteady, and stopped next to Dean. "What happened? Where's Crow…" He stopped dead when he saw Crowley emerge carrying one of the last angels he had expected to see. "Why…"**_

" _ **What is she doing here?" Castiel interrupted him, his voice laced with venom and his face dark with fury. He stalked forward with a murderous gleam in his eyes, but Dean stepped in his path and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Dean, please get out of my way."**_

" _ **No Cas," Dean stepped closer, forcing him away from the demon and unconscious angel. "Look, we need her."**_

" _ **How?"**_

" _ **For protection, knowledge and to prevent Abbadon getting her." Crowley interjected. Castiel gave him a murderous glare, to which Crowley smiled 'pleasantly' back.**_

" _ **Crowley's right," Dean choked out with a pained expression. "Think of what Abbadon could do with her. Naomi got into a lot of heads and knows a lot of things."**_

 _ **Castiel observed Dean for a heartbeat, his face void of any emotions, then he said, "Fine." And stalked over to the car and got in, slamming the door behind him.**_

 _ **Sam and Dean shared a bemused look, and Dean shook his head. He turned to Crowley as Sam moved towards the passenger side. "You coming?"**_

 _ **Crowley couldn't resist as he walked past Dean, giving him a sarcastically soft look. "You said I was right. I'm touched." He whispered, which caused Dean to roll his eyes and mutter, "Don't get used to it." Crowley laughed at this and moved towards the impala, stealing a glance at Naomi. Maybe things wouldn't be so bleak after all.**_

To say the journey back to the bunker had been uncomfortable would have been an understatement. It had left Dean desperately wishing that he had stocked up on some of the _stronger stuff,_ however as it was, he had to settle for a beer.

Sam had nearly fallen asleep five times during the drive, only to wake himself up each time when his head had lolled forward. Dean found himself worrying more and more about the rapidly deteriorating condition of his brother, regretting that he had not stepped in and completed the trials instead.

In the back, sat behind Sam, was Castiel who was glaring daggers at Crowley and Naomi, the latter being completely ignorant to this fact due to her current state and the former pretending to be ignorant, and even at Dean whenever he happened to catch his eye. Dean couldn't deny that Castiel looked kind of cute, the sullen expression he wore, and the way in which he had pouted his full lips, and… moving on.

Next to Castiel was sat Crowley, with Naomi held against his chest. He knew that Crowley was probably just trying to keep the defenceless Naomi away from Cas, yet Dean couldn't help but feel that there was something…off about the way Crowley was behaving. For starts he was acting as though he actually _cared_ about her and Dean knew that Crowley only ever looked out for number one, but the way he was holding her so gently as though she was a fragile doll that might shatter at any moment was just not like him. Dean had shrugged it off, putting it down to the semi-completed trial of turning Crowley human, thinking that maybe he was starting to feel human emotions again.

And of course there was Naomi, perhaps the one that made him most uncomfortable. He had sworn that if he ever came across that feathered bitch again, then he would make her suffer for what she did to Castiel. He would tear her apart until she was begging for death. But seeing her like this frightened him and sent chills down his spine. Her face was haggard and pale, with dark circles beneath her eyes and on her gaunt cheeks and her eyes were closed to the world. Blood had covered her hair and face, running down her neck and marking her collar, which had once been pristine and starched, as was the rest of her, but now was creased and filthy. He half expected her to awaken at any moment, but she remained deadly still and silent, more skeletal than celestial, and judging by Crowley's tense posture, he knew she was fading fast.

So between Sam's sickness, Castiel's trying to kill everyone with his mind, Crowley's weird behaviour and Naomi's deathly state, Dean felt that this was fast becoming more than his job was worth. Deep down, he missed the good old days, pre apocalyptic end-of-the-world. He longed for the days when it was just him and Sammy, back when they were hunting things, saving people, the family business as he liked to call it; before everything got complicated by Lucifer being freed from the cage and God doing a disappearing act.

As he pulled up in front of the bunker, Crowley had leapt out of the car before he had even stopped fully and was striding purposefully towards the entrance. Dean had then tore the keys out of the ignition and sprinted after him, a bleary eyed Sam and a sulky Castiel following at a slower pace. Dean pulled the key from his pocket and unlocked the door, entering with Crowley behind.

Sam, who seemed more awake now, walked around them and over to the large table in the middle of the room and hastily removed the array of scrolls, manuscripts and yellowing books that were littered across it. Once the table was cleared, Crowley gently laid Naomi on top of it, letting go of her for the first time since he discovered her. Sam had disappeared into another room, and returned seconds later carrying a bundle of towels in his arms which he then proceeded to place under Naomi's limp head.

"Is that normal?" Dean questioned, pointing at the blue veins that were snaking up the chalky skin of her neck.

"Yes," Castiel murmured, hedging towards the table "But it's not a good sign."

Sam turned to look at Castiel. "There has to be something we can do." He said.

Castiel opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and clamped his mouth shut, scowling as he thought.

"What? You were going to say something" Sam pressed.

Castiel glanced at the three men and nodded his head. "I was, but I fear that it will not work and cause more harm than good."

"Well what is it?" Snapped Crowley, "If there is a chance, even a microscopic one, then surely that's better than a kick in the teeth."

"This is more serious than being kicked in the teeth. And that wouldn't help her."

"Figure of speech Cas!" Dean said with exasperation. "Just tell us your idea and we'll decide whether or not it'll work."

Castiel glanced at them again and nodded. "You remember that time when you needed the ashes of a phoenix to kill Eve, so I sent you back in time to retrieve the one Samuel Colt killed."

"Yeah I remember." Dean smiled slightly at the memory of his outfit. "I killed the son of a bitch though, not Colt. Anyway what's that got to do with healing angels? Are you saying we need phoenix ash?"

"No," Castiel replied. "But I was attacked and weakened before I was able to get you back. I had to take…measures to heal myself again."

The three of them looked at Castiel in confusion, before Sam and Dean's faces lit up with understanding. "Oh." Sam said nervously, glancing at the weakening Naomi. Dean opened and closed his mouth several times and then stuttered. "So, you want Naomi to touch one of our souls to heal her. Great plan aside from the fact she's not exactly conscious enough to reach inside of one of us and poke our soul."

"I'll do it." Crowley said, moving over to Naomi's side and rolling his sleeves up.

"You'll do it. Do you even have a soul?" Dean quipped.

Crowley pulled a face and replied, "Ouch Dean, you do know how to wound a demon. It may be twisted and warped but it's still there." He flexed his hand. "And as you pointed out, she's in no condition to do it, and I can't see either you or Mouse pulling out your own soul." He raised an eyebrow at them and when neither replied, he nodded resolutely. "Good, and now for the fun part." And with that, he pushed his hand into his chest. He tensed and gritted his teeth, clutching the side of the table for support. He grunted as he pulled his hand out again, and in his closed hand was a small glowing orb, that had long dark cracks running through it, and radiated a cold grey light. A sheen of sweat had broken out across his forehead and he stumbled a little, moving closer to Naomi.

Clutching at her lifeless hand, he raised it and carefully rested the tips of her fingers on the small orb. Suddenly, the lights in the bunker began to flicker uncontrollably and a new, more intense light was born, projecting from Naomi's vessel. Her eyes flew open, illuminated with angelic power and she gasped as power lurched throughout her vessel's veins.

The moment seemed to last for an eternity, yet also only for a moment, as the light faded and her eyes slid shut again, her body relaxing and slowly stilling. The blood that stained her face seemed to come alive, as it slithered up into her hair and into the wound, which had begun to seal shut. At the same time, the blue veins began to disappear down her neck, like a thermometer that had been plunged into icy cold water, and became obscured by the fabric of her suit that covered her chest, which had now begun to rise and fall slowly.

Grunting in pain, Crowley carefully returned his soul back into his chest, exhausted and drained from the exertion. He snapped his fingers and summoned one of the chairs that had been tossed to the side and plonked down into it unceremoniously, panting heavily. He scrubbed his face with his hands and sagged against the chair, glaring as he noticed that he was being watched. "What?" He snapped, "Do I have something on my face?"

"Crowley, how did you do that? I mean," Sam gawped. "You just pulled your soul out. How is that even possible?"

"It's quiet simple really." Castiel interrupted in his usual monotonous tone. "Where Crowley has become a demon, his soul has been broken and damaged permanently, which therefore means that the 'packaging', if you will, has been broken as well. He can reach in and pull it out through the gaps."

"So like someone sat on a box of pies." Dean grinned. "That stuff gets everywhere."

Castiel considered this for a moment and then replied, "Yes I suppose you could say that."

"Well since we've got _that_ sorted, perhaps you could tell us _IF IT WORKED!_ " Crowley barked in frustration. "I shan't be a very happy bunny if I did all that for nothing."

"I imagine it did."

Crowley gawped and widened his eyes. For a minute he could not speak and was only able to utter incoherent noises. He then managed to regain his composure, asking coolly, "What do you mean you 'imagine'." A vein was pulsing against his temple.

Glimpsing nervously at Dean in hope of finding some support from him, he spluttered, "I mean that she looks as though she has improved. But I am unable to tell whether or not her grace is still damaged without my…" He trailed of sadly.

Taking pity on the fallen angel, Dean smiled softly and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Hey it's alright man. I guess we'll just have to wait until she wakes up." Dean squeezed Castiel's shoulder and then let go, stepping away from him. Although no one said it, he could tell what they were all thinking. It all depended on _if_ she did wake up, and at the moment both scenarios were becoming less desirable the more he thought about it. If she did wake, she might hold a grudge against him and Castiel for not listening to her and ultimately leading to her demise. And since he didn't want an angry full powered angel out to get them when his angel was practically human, he didn't favour their chances of getting out of that unscathed.

Then of course there was the possibility that she did not wake up, which was equally as bad. He'd have a dead angel on his hands, as well as Abbadon on his ass and the gates of heaven being bolted shut and all the angels walking the earth and being hunted and massacred by demons, and he couldn't do any of this alone. Once he had been confident in his ability to save the world, but now his shoulders had broken and he felt crushed by the weight.

Turning to the others and forcing a grin on his face, he clapped his hands together and said, "I'll take first watch. You go and get some shut eye." And he had been left alone, with an oblivious angel who might not awaken, nursing a beer and his darkening thoughts.

 **So that chapter was quite a pain to write. Anyhow, next chapter Naomi** _ **finally**_ **awakens and they begin to devise a game plan to save both heaven and hell. As always, reviews are appreciated very much.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything; this is for recreational purposes only.**

 _ **Previously…**_

" _ **Crowley, how did you do that? I mean," Sam gawped. "You just pulled your soul out. How is that even possible?"**_

" _ **It's quiet simple really." Castiel interrupted in his usual monotonous tone. "Where Crowley has become a demon, his soul has been broken and damaged permanently, which therefore means that the 'packaging', if you will, has been broken as well. He can reach in and pull it out through the gaps."**_

" _ **So like someone sat on a box of pies." Dean grinned. "That stuff gets everywhere."**_

 _ **Castiel considered this for a moment and then replied, "Yes I suppose you could say that."**_

" _ **Well since we've got that sorted, perhaps you could tell us IF IT WORKED!" Crowley barked in frustration. "I shan't be a very happy bunny if I did all that for nothing."**_

" _ **I imagine it did."**_

 _ **Crowley gawped and widened his eyes. For a minute he could not speak and was only able to utter incoherent noises. He then managed to regain his composure, asking coolly, "What do you mean you 'imagine'." A vein was pulsing against his temple.**_

 _ **Glimpsing nervously at Dean in hope of finding some support from him, he spluttered, "I mean that she looks as though she has improved. But I am unable to tell whether or not her grace is still damaged without my…" He trailed of sadly.**_

 _ **Taking pity on the fallen angel, Dean smiled softly and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Hey it's alright man. I guess we'll just have to wait until she wakes up." Dean squeezed Castiel's shoulder and then let go, stepping away from him. Although no one said it, he could tell what they were all thinking. It all depended on if she did wake up, and at the moment both scenarios were becoming less desirable the more he thought about it. If she did wake, she might hold a grudge against him and Castiel for not listening to her and ultimately leading to her demise. And since he didn't want an angry full powered angel out to get them when his angel was practically human, he didn't favour their chances of getting out of that unscathed.**_

 _ **Then of course there was the possibility that she did not wake up, which was equally as bad. He'd have a dead angel on his hands, as well as Abbadon on his ass and the gates of heaven being bolted shut and all the angels walking the earth and being hunted and massacred by demons, and he couldn't do any of this alone. Once he had been confident in his ability to save the world, but now his shoulders had broken and he felt crushed by the weight.**_

 _ **Turning to the others and forcing a grin on his face, he clapped his hands together and said, "I'll take first watch. You go and get some shut eye." And he had been left alone, with an oblivious angel who might not awaken, nursing a beer and his darkening thoughts.**_

It had been three exceedingly long and torturous days and, to put it simply, Crowley had had enough. He would have quite happily leapt into the cage with Lucy and Michael, or better yet throw both the Winchesters in there, than have to endure another day in this God forsaken bunker.

It had seemed that everyone was on edge, more so than usual, and the gravity of their situation was beginning to take its toll. Both Sam and Dean spent most of their time pouring over countless books, trying desperately to find something that would tell them how to unlock the gates of Heaven (as well as a way to kill Abbadon and Dean's personal little mission of finding a way to reverse the effects of the trials and cure his little brother). Of course they were coming up with absolutely nothing, but Crowley had expected this to be the outcome.

And he could not forget about dear, sweet, utterly clueless Castiel. Honestly being human did not suit him and it was painfully obvious to all those around. For a creature that had lived for so long and watched over humanity since its birth, he really had no idea about their _bodily functions_ and _technicalities._ The amount of times he went running (literally) to Dean with every new sensation or problems was quite astounding.

It had started a few hours after they had healed Naomi, and they were all sitting peacefully until Castiel's stomach had begun to grumble. This happened several more times and each time Castiel's scowl and his (as well as everyone else's) frustration had grown. In the end he turned and moaned to Dean, "I believe that my stomach is trying to communicate with me and appears to be very dissatisfied; however I am unable to decipher what it is saying. I am not familiar with the language of the stomach."

"It means you're hungry Cas; stomach growls and you feed it." And without looking up he shoved a large bowl of chips in his direction. Castiel then began to munch happily (and loudly) on them, finishing them within a matter of minutes, later going on to finish two more. He had continued to eat like an army resulting in numerous trips to purchase groceries and costing the boys a pretty penny. _Well technically costing the government a pretty penny but that wasn't really the point as Dean so often pointed out._

On top of that was the hassle of 'Naomi Watch'. It had been decided that at least one of them should be there when she woke up, in case she freaked in the unfamiliar surroundings and levelled the place. Unfortunately, this meant that someone had to sit with her constantly to make sure that this did not happen. Double unfortunately, they still weren't confident about Castiel around Naomi, particularly alone, Sam was still barely able to lift his head up, so both of them where pardoned from duty. Dean occasionally watched, however he was completely run off his feet playing mother hen to Castiel and Sam, so it was no surprise that the bulk of 'Naomi Watch' fell down to Crowley; the only one who did not require sleep or food. _A bottle of Craig however…_

Massaging his temples with his fingers, he glanced at the face of the slumbering angel. He had to admit, and it almost killed him to, that she looked exceptionally beautiful and peaceful. In his all to brief time with her, he had never once seen her asleep (angels generally didn't sleep) and he had often scorned and mocked soppy human poets who wrote about the _pure_ and _innocent_ beauty of their slumbering loves, but sitting here now, observing how her fiery hair framed her face; the way her eyelids fluttering like butterfly's wings, and her soft lips were parted, puffing out small and almost inaudible breathes, he could begin to…

He cut of his thoughts abruptly, shaking his head vigorously in an attempt to remove them from his brain. What was happening to him? He was the _king of Hell_ for crying out loud. He should not be having soppy thoughts about an angel, one who he had past _relations_ with at any rate. Once he had eliminated Abbadon, and was safely back in the realms of his kingdom, he would make sure those Winchesters would pay for what they did to him. Oh the fun he'd have, starting with…

"Crowley."

Tensing up with irritation, Crowley closed his eyes to try and regain some of his non-existent patience, and rumbled, "Yes Castiel."

"I was wondering, since Dean is asleep and I don't want to disturb him," _Of course you don't._ "I was wondering how I would go about preparing this microwavable burger.

Crowley had to grip the arms of his chair to prevent himself from face-palming himself. Repeatedly. "Well my little unfeathered friend," he replied without bothering to turn to face him. "Firstly you take the burger out of the packaging and put it on a plate. Then you put it in the microwave, set the timer to the recommended time, punch the start button and you're away!"

He heard Castiel mutter his thanks, and shuffle towards the kitchen area. Seconds later he could hear him rattling around, no doubt looking for the microwave, and rolled his eyes, turning to look back at Naomi. He all but leapt out of his chair when he saw staring back at him where two clear, crystal blue eyes.

Neither moved for what seemed like hours, then Naomi flipped herself off the table, her hair flying wildly around her face, stumbling slightly. She narrowed her eyes at him and bared her teeth. "What am I doing here? What do you want, cockroach?"

Crowley remained calm and impassive, having regained his composure, and replied, "It's nice to see you're awake, love. Thought you weren't going to make it for a moment there." He smirked at her in a way he knew irked her. "And you're welcome by the way. If I hadn't stepped in, you would be trapped with a bunch of other demons, who I can assure you are nowhere near as charming and civilised as I am."

She growled and narrowed her eyes further until they were slits. "You could never be described as charming or civilised. And I'd prefer any other demon's company to yours."

He staggered backwards and feigned being stabbed in the heart. "You wound me darling. I remember a time when you couldn't get enough of my company. The risks you used to take to get your hands on me. I remember that time when…" Suddenly Naomi lunged at him, making a grab for his throat, however she was still weak, and her movements were slow and sluggish, meaning he was able to grab her hand and fight of her attack with relative ease.

With blinding speed, he twirled her around so that her chest was pressed against his and her arms were locked behind her back; their faces inches apart. "Let go of me, you abomination!"

"Sorry, no can do love." He spoke louder than normal, hoping to attract the attention of one of the other occupants of the bunker. "Not until you calm down and are willing to listen to what we have to say."

"We?" Before Naomi could say anymore, there was a grunt from the doorway and a heavy-eyed Dean Winchester shuffled into the room. "The hell Crowley!" He scowled grouchily. "You trying to make an earthquake."

"Not this time Dean." He looked at Naomi with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "We've come close before though." If he hadn't been watching her closely, he would have missed the corner of her mouth quirk up in a small smile.

Noticing her for the first time since he'd entered, Dean snapped out of his tiredness and was instantly on guard. "You're awake. How long for?" He directed the last part at Crowley.

"About five minutes."

Dean nodded, and an awkward silence descended over the trio. He looked from Crowley to Naomi several times, giving them a weird look. He was about to say something when there was a loud blast that came from the kitchen. "Jesus Christ." Dean muttered and ran off towards the sound of the commotion. Once he was gone, Naomi looked Crowley, her eyebrow slightly raised with curiosity. "Crowley what am I doing here? What is going on?"

He sighed and shook his head, tightening his arms around her, to which she no longer tried struggled free from. "As much as I'd love to tell you, I think we best wait for the Winchesters. They'll be able to tell you more about their great plans than I will." Feeling like she wasn't going to try and rip his throat out anymore, he gingerly let go of her and stepped back, feeling slightly confused and the sudden coldness and loss he felt.

They both turned to watch as Dean re-entered the room, grumbling to himself. He was stopped in his tracks when Naomi questioned what the upheaval had been about. "Castiel," he grumbled, scowling at Crowley's smirking face. "He put a metal plate in the microwave and the thing exploded."

"Castiel is here?" Her voice was a mix between surprise, fear and dread.

"Yeah." _Instantly defensive to save his boyfriends honour._ "Look, we need to talk."

"I'm inclined to agree with you on that point." Naomi said, nodding with agreement.

Dean pursed his lips, his face grave. "I'm gonna go wake Sam, if that didn't wake him. And then we're all gonna have a little chat."

 **Well I finished that chapter much more quickly than I expected. It's a little different to how I had planned it, but who knows where these things will end up. So next chapter they will definitely start to form a plan, and we also find a little more out about Naomi and Crowley's past.**

 **Please leave me a review and thank you for reading my story so far.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything**

 _ **Previously…**_

 _ **Suddenly Naomi lunged at him, making a grab for his throat, however she was still weak, and her movements were slow and sluggish, meaning he was able to grab her hand and fight off her attack with relative ease.**_

 _ **With blinding speed, he twirled her around so that her chest was pressed against his and her arms were locked behind her back; their faces inches apart. "Let go of me, you abomination!"**_

" _ **Sorry, no can do love." He spoke louder than normal, hoping to attract the attention of one of the other occupants of the bunker. "Not until you calm down and are willing to listen to what we have to say."**_

" _ **We?" Before Naomi could say anymore, there was a grunt from the doorway and a heavy-eyed Dean Winchester shuffled into the room. "The hell Crowley!" He scowled grouchily. "You trying to make an earthquake."**_

" _ **Not this time Dean." He looked at Naomi with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "We've come close before though." If he hadn't been watching her closely, he would have missed the corner of her mouth quirk up in a small smile.**_

 _ **Noticing her for the first time since he'd entered, Dean snapped out of his tiredness and was instantly on guard. "You're awake. How long for?" He directed the last part at Crowley.**_

" _ **About five minutes."**_

 _ **Dean nodded, and an awkward silence descended over the trio. He looked from Crowley to Naomi several times, giving them a weird look. He was about to say something when there was a loud blast that came from the kitchen. "Jesus Christ." Dean muttered and ran off towards the sound of the commotion. Once he was gone, Naomi looked Crowley, her eyebrow slightly raised with curiosity. "Crowley what am I doing here? What is going on?"**_

 _ **He sighed and shook his head, tightening his arms around her, to which she no longer tried struggled free from. "As much as I'd love to tell you, I think we best wait for the Winchesters. They'll be able to tell you more about their great plans than I will." Feeling like she wasn't going to try and rip his throat out anymore, he gingerly let go of her and stepped back, feeling slightly confused and the sudden coldness and loss he felt.**_

 _ **They both turned to watch as Dean re-entered the room, grumbling to himself. He was stopped in his tracks when Naomi questioned what the upheaval had been about. "Castiel," he grumbled, scowling at Crowley's smirking face. "He put a metal plate in the microwave and the thing exploded."**_

" _ **Castiel is here?" Her voice was a mix between surprise, fear and dread.**_

" _ **Yeah." Instantly defensive to save his boyfriends honour. "Look, we need to talk."**_

" _ **I'm inclined to agree with you on that point." Naomi said, nodding with agreement.**_

 _ **Dean pursed his lips, his face grave. "I'm gonna go wake Sam, if that didn't wake him. And then we're all gonna have a little chat."**_

Much to Dean's concern, the blast hadn't woke up Sam and it took him a further ten minutes to rouse the younger man from his coma like state. His sweat covered skin was burning to the touch and he seemed disorientated and weak, yet despite Dean's insistence, Sam had told him that he was fine and was determined to prove so.

"Sammy," Dean stated sternly.

"I'll be fine Dean, just stop mothering me." Sam interrupted. "Look I know you're worried but we have a job to do."

"One you won't be around to do if you carry on this way."

"Dean, I'm fine." Sam said firmly, looking him directly in the eye. "How's Naomi doing?"

"I know you're trying to change the subject, but fine. No visible damage and she seems to have recovered well, but…" Dean trailed of, scowling to himself.

Sam paused, observing his brother's expression. "But what?"

"I don't know," Dean sighed, shaking his head. "There's just something weird between Crowley and Naomi. Like there's too much anger there between for just your average angel/demon hatred. It's like there's something there but it's buried beneath all the crap…"

"You mean you think they have a past?" Sam smirked lightly.

Punching his arm, Dean replied, "Hey don't mock me! Seriously though, it was like… ah whatever." He muttered, rolling his eyes and walking ahead.

Sam tried to hold back his laughter, but failed miserably. "Come on Dean." He snorted, "I'm not mocking your OTP."

"OTP! Seriously, what even is that?"

Sam clutched his hands together and brought them to his chest. Batting his eyes at Dean he said, "Your one true pairing!" and doubled over with laughter.

"Shut up Sam." Dean growled, scowling even more at his little brother. His scowl soon evaporated as Sam's laughter turned into coughs that racked his entire body.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." He wheezed, shaking off Dean's attempts to help him. "Come on," he said once he had recovered. "Let's get this over with."

As soon as they entered the library of the bunker, the first thing they noticed was the tense atmosphere that was thick enough to choke them.

Naomi was sat at one of the desks, straight backed and with a rigid posture, trying with all her might to ignore the world around her. Her gaze was so cold and harsh, that Dean was quite convinced that he could see ice beginning to form on the unfortunate bookshelf that fell beneath her glare.

Stood at the farthest corner away from her was Castiel, who wore the expression of a petulant and sulky child. His glare was fixed upon Naomi as though he was trying to bore a hole in her head with his gaze.

And finally, sat in between the two celestial beings on the chair opposite Naomi and grinning like a Cheshire cat was Crowley, nursing a glass of Craig in his hand. He was the first to notice the Winchesters' entrance. "Hello boys," He said lazily. "We were beginning to think you'd run out on us."

"And give you full access to this place? Not likely." Dean muttered, dragging a chair over to the occupied table.

"And after all we've achieved together," Crowley said in mock hurt. "You still don't trust me! Have I ever let you down before?"

"Yes." All the other occupants of the room said.

Sitting down beside Dean, Sam said "Perhaps we should discuss why we're all here." He looked over to Castiel, who made no move to join the rest of the group, and then to Dean, who just shrugged his shoulders. "Err…right."

"Perhaps you could start by explaining what I'm doing here?" Naomi interjected not too harshly.

"What do you remember?"

Naomi smiled sadly. "Not very much, I'm afraid. I remember bringing in Metatron," she shivered slightly at his name, "for interrogation and discovering his intentions to banish all the angels from Heaven and warning you and Castiel." She said the last part to Dean, who looked somewhat guilty. "And then I returned to Heaven to discover Metatron had escaped, but before I could do anything there was this searing pain in the back of my head. And then nothing, until I awoke here."

"Yeah, well things have become pretty bad since then." Dean chuckled humourlessly.

"How so?"

Sam and Dean shared a look before Sam opened his mouth to continue, however was interrupted by another voice.

"The angels fell." Castiel said approaching the group, his eye fixed on Naomi's. "He succeed in casting all the angels from Heaven and sealing the gates shut." Swallowing, he looked down at his feet. "And he used my grace to do so."

"Hey, nobody blames you for all this Cas." Dean stated firmly, ignoring Naomi's small gasp.

"I believe all the angels will beg to differ." Castiel said bitterly, brokenly.

"Not all the angels." Castiel's head snapped up to look at Naomi, as she smiled softly. "I promised to listen to what you had to say and I intend to do that."

"You mean you're not angry?" Dean spluttered in shock.

"I would say I'm not angry," Naomi considered. "I'm angry you didn't listen to me and I'm angry that this happened, but killing you won't help."

"Err…thanks?"

"That's all well and good worrying about what's going on in Heaven, or not in this case," Crowley spoke up. "But we've got bigger problems in Hell and on Earth."

"What could be more important than returning the angels back to Heaven?" Naomi snapped with irritation.

"Oh I don't know," Crowley snapped back. "Maybe a little Knight of Hell called Abbadon. Remember her love?"

"A-Abbadon?" Naomi gasped. "But I thought Cain killed all the knights."

"So did we but it appears he missed one?"

"Whoa-whoa! Back up a sec," Dean interrupted. "Who's Cain and shouldn't we be getting him on our side if he's all for killing demons?"

"I wouldn't advise that." Naomi said gravely.

"Are we talking about _the_ Cain?" Sam said. At Dean's confused look, he explained, "Come on Dean! Cain and Abel. Cain was the first murderer, he killed Abel. His own brother!"

"Not really someone you'd want or your team." Crowley added, "Or against you."

Rolling her eyes at Crowley, Naomi stated, "The Knights of Hell are not ordinary demons. They are much more powerful and therefore take a lot more force to kill. After killing his brother, Cain became a demon, stronger than the Knights." She sighed. "He was their teacher."

"So why did he turn on his own kind then?" Dean asked.

"Nobody knows."

There was a moment's pause before Crowley spoke. "So let's do a stock intake. We have hundreds, possibly thousands, of homeless angels roaming around Earth, and a psychotic scribe holding the doors shut. We have a Knight of Hell who is hell bent, if you'll excuse the pun, on taking over Hell and spreading her reign over everything that has ever bathed on God's light. And finally, to cap it all, we have a graceless angel and a damaged Winchester. Now how can we solve all these, all on our little lonesome?"

"We can't alone." Naomi said deliberately. "But I think I know how we can."

She didn't say anything for a while, until Dean said "Well?"

She only gave one word as an answer. As an answer to all their problems.

"Time."

 **My consistency with updating stories is really appalling. But anyway I hope you all liked this chapter and it's not too disappointing after all the time I made you wait for an update. I should have the next chapter up with the next week or so as I have some time off and intend to catch up with all my writing then.**

 **As always, thank you for all your comments and please continue leaving them for me to read.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Owns absolutely nothing.**

 _ **Previously…**_

 _ **There was a moment's pause before Crowley spoke. "So let's do a stock intake. We have hundreds, possibly thousands, of homeless angels roaming around Earth, and a psychotic scribe holding the doors shut. We have a Knight of Hell who is hell bent, if you'll excuse the pun, on taking over Hell and spreading her reign over everything that has ever bathed on God's light. And finally, to cap it all, we have a graceless angel and a damaged Winchester. Now how can we solve all these, all on our little lonesome?"**_

" _ **We can't alone." Naomi said deliberately. "But I think I know how we can."**_

 _ **She didn't say anything for a while, until Dean said "Well?"**_

 _ **She only gave one word as an answer. As an answer to all their problems.**_

" _ **Time."**_

In the silence that followed, Naomi was able to study each of their reactions. Both of the Winchester brothers looked at her in confusion, like her mental state had suffered after her injury. Well she had expected that. Humans were too young and clueless to possibly know what she meant, and Castiel (a young angel compared to her) was just as clueless. No, it only appeared that Crowley had understood what she had meant, judging by shocked and outraged expression.

Dean was the first to break the silence, coughing awkwardly and addressing Naomi as one might to a deranged aunt. "Yeah more time would be great right now, so unless you've got any theories on stopping it or whatever, we're gonna need something better than that."

"Not _time_ ," sighed Naomi, realising just how tedious it would be to explain. " _Time._ As in _the_ Time."

Dean continued to look at her like she'd gone mad, however it appeared that Sam seemed to understand what she was saying. "You mean Time is a being. Like Death." He said hesitantly, to which Naomi nodded in reply.

"So Time's a dude." Dean said, finally catching on. He glanced over to Castiel, who shrugged. It was the first he had ever heard of this.

"She's a woman, actually." Crowley said tightly, still glaring at Naomi in fury. "They don't say Time's a fickle mistress for nothing."

"Crowley…" Naomi began in a warning tone. Their eyes locked.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" He snapped back. "Of all the entities you could have picked, you pick the one with the most hostility towards any creature that dares to disturb her. You do remember what happened the last time we asked for her help?"

Dean's ears pricked up. "Last time?"

"That was eons ago." Naomi replied with equal rage, apparently not having heard Dean. "And we didn't ask her for her help."

"No we begged."

"We didn't beg! It was simply enquiring whether or not she had knowledge on…"

"Oh, please! You were on your knees!"

"I was not! I bowed in respect, which is more than can be said for you!"

"Ha! Why should I bow to her? Didn't even help us anyway."

"You threatened to lock her back in the abyss if she did agree to your demands!" Naomi shrieked.

"You weren't exactly diplomatic yourself." Crowley spat back, theirs noses almost pressing together as they glared at each other with unadulterated loathing.

"Cockroach!"

"Bureaucrat!"

"Hey!" Sam cried, managing to halt their bickering. They both turned to scowl at him, daring him to interrupt them again.

"What the hell was that?" Dean took over, worrying that Sam should not waste what little strength he had. "What do you mean 'the last time'? Why were you two working together, and who the hell is Time?"

"There was an incident many millennia ago." Crowley said, sitting casual back in the chair, his previous outburst apparently spent. "Back in the good old biblical days when togas were in and chests were often out."

"There was an incident," Naomi continued, shooting one last irritable glare in Crowley's direction, "that required knowledge that was older than even God, and so we turned to Time for assistance."

"What sort of 'incident' are we talking about here?" Dean questioned.

"A gaping hole was ripped in the veil between Earth and Purgatory." Crowley replied calmly, causing Naomi to gasp. She appeared to be about to interrupt him, however Crowley ignored her and continued. "The leviathans were first to escape, followed by a whole army of monsters too terrifying to even dream up in your worst nightmares. With mortals and immortals dying left, right and centre something had to be done. So Heaven and Hell joined forces and we found the Lady of the Clock and begged her to help us to seal up Purgatory and put the creatures back in it."

"Then what happened? She told you to get lost?"

"Not exactly," Naomi managed to successfully cut in this time. "Crowley and I were assigned to appeal to her and we did. She listened to what we had to say and helped us as far as to cast the Leviathan back into the deepest realms of Purgatory, but that was all she'd do. The rest, she said, was for us to fix and so we had to return with little more than some breathing space. We had accomplished nothing," Naomi hissed bitterly. "There were still monsters roaming the Earth, and a tear in the veil, and to top it all the Leviathan could return at any moment."

"But there's no tear now." Castiel pointed out and suddenly frowned, staring off into the distance. "And I have no recollection of there ever being one."

Crowley smirked, apparently more than pleased to fill the clueless angel in. "Well you wouldn't. Daddy dearest stuck a huge gate over the tear, and placed one to separate Heaven and Hell from Earth too, and any lesser angels had their memories wiped of the whole incident."

"Then why do you remember and no one else?" Dean asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.

"Because I'm a demon and God didn't think I was important enough to waste vital energy on. I survived you see, something he didn't expect. Any demon that was swinging at the time has long since been killed off through their own stupidity or is otherwise incarcerated in what is fondly known as 'The Cage'."

"Hold up," Sam said, wincing slightly as he tried to straighten from his slumped condition. "If she was barely willing to help then, what makes you think she'll even consider helping now?"

"Maybe age has mellowed the bitch." Crowley muttered darkly.

"I hope you realise you're making it even less likely that she'll be willing to help us, the more you insult her." Naomi snapped, turning her attention to Sam before Crowley could fire back a retort. "And to answer your question, we don't know. But she is our most favourable option at the moment, so we have to at least try."

"What are our other options?"

"May I refer you back to the term, 'The Cage'?" Crowley gave a false smile. As Naomi observed him, she could see the tension building in him. She could just see the glimmer of fear and hesitancy that was invisible to all others present in the room. It almost made her want to offer him comfort.

Almost.

Dean internally shuddered at the thought of 'The Cage' and who resided inside. "So, how do we go about finding our Lady Time?"

"It won't be easy." Naomi replied thoughtfully, contemplating carefully what there next moves should be. "She cannot reside on Earth as her presence would be too overwhelming; however there is a portal that would enable us to travel to her dimension to meet with her."

"So we just go to this portal and travel to an alternate dimension." Dean summarised hoping that this wouldn't be too difficult.

"It's not that simple." Naomi crushed this hope mournfully. "The portal changes location every century or so, and after God's disappearance, keeping track of it wasn't one of our main priorities anymore."

"So you lost it."

"To put it simply, yes. And even if we do find it, there's still the Guard to get past."

"The Guard! What the hell is the Guard?"

"A host of angels created with the sole purpose of guarding the doorway to the dimension from any entering. To reach them, we would have to travel through a labyrinth first…"

Dean groaned and flopped down into a chair, rubbing his temples as he felt a headache begin to for. He felt a sense of dread overcome him. It was all too much. He longed for the old days, when things were much simpler in his mind, but now he could see that they'd have a chance. Sam was to weak most of the time to even venture from his room, let alone fight of a heavenly guard, Cas seemed to be closing himself off more and more after the loss of his powers, and he himself was exhausted from looking after the pair as well as staying up most nights for his own personal mission of trying to find a cure for Sammy. Hell, none of them were in any condition to fight. The only ones who seemed remotely strong enough were Crowley and Naomi, though the full extent of their conditions and status of their powers since the trial and the fall was still a grey area. "I don't suppose there's an emergency pull cord that will just undo this mess."

"This is as close as we're going to get." Naomi said, leaning forward slightly with her hand clasped atop of the desk, her eyes boring into his with an earnest expression. "We must act quickly, fighting a war on both sides will require all the help we can get and time is not on our side."

Dean hesitated for only a moment, appreciating the irony of the angel's statement, wondering if she had realised the significance of what she had just said. _Time was not on their side._ "But she will be." Dean finally said and judging by the slight upturn of Naomi's mouth, she had chosen her words well.

Trouble was though, where to begin finding an ancient portal that had been lost, even to the angels?

 **Hehe, apologies again for the large gaps between updates. The woes and trials of life prevent me from writing and updating as much as I'd like, and this chapter has been sitting half completed for so long I'm almost embarrassed to admit. Anyway, hope this chapter was worth the long,** _ **long,**_ **wait and I'll make it my mid-year resolution to try and update more often.**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Previously…**_

 _ **Dean groaned and flopped down into a chair, rubbing his temples as he felt a headache begin to for. He felt a sense of dread overcome him. It was all too much. He longed for the old days, when things were much simpler in his mind, but now he could see that they'd have a chance. Sam was to weak most of the time to even venture from his room, let alone fight of a heavenly guard, Cas seemed to be closing himself off more and more after the loss of his powers, and he himself was exhausted from looking after the pair as well as staying up most nights for his own personal mission of trying to find a cure for Sammy. Hell, none of them were in any condition to fight. The only ones who seemed remotely strong enough were Crowley and Naomi, though the full extent of their conditions and status of their powers since the trial and the fall was still a grey area. "I don't suppose there's an emergency pull cord that will just undo this mess."**_

" _ **This is as close as we're going to get." Naomi said, leaning forward slightly with her hand clasped atop of the desk, her eyes boring into his with an earnest expression. "We must act quickly, fighting a war on both sides will require all the help we can get and time is not on our side."**_

 _ **Dean hesitated for only a moment, appreciating the irony of the angel's statement, wondering if she had realised the significance of what she had just said. Time was not on their side. "But she will be." Dean finally said and judging by the slight upturn of Naomi's mouth, she had chosen her words well.**_

 _ **Trouble was though, where to begin finding an ancient portal that had been lost, even to the angels?**_

Rubbing his eyes and sighing deeply, Dean placed the ancient manuscript he'd been studying on the ever-growing pile beside him. Despite the vastness of the collection of relics, books and manuscripts that thee men of letters had collected over the years, they were yet to even find something that even mentioned Time. He'd found countless writings on time travel, slowing down time and one that even explained the functioning of timepieces, yet nothing on the deity herself. It was almost as though she didn't exist or "someone's tried exceptionally hard to erase her from history" as Castiel suggested. Dean had considered this idea at length, trying to work out who would want to erase Time from all records and could only think of one person, or being, with the power to do so.

God.

It made him wonder why he had gone to such lengths to cover up her existence. Even the archangels weren't trusted to remember Crowley had told him, and then when questioned as to why he and Naomi did, he simply smirked and shrugged his shoulders refusing to divulge any more on the subject. Even Naomi was suspiciously silent on the subject, revealing even less than Crowley, and making Dean feel like he was missing something glaringly obvious.

He groaned and slammed his head down on the table, resulting in the old lamp that was resting next to the manuscripts to tremble and flicker slightly. Sam looked up from his own reading at the disturbance. "You alright?" He asked cautiously, watching as Dean lifted his head and picked up another book, twice the size of the others. "Nope," came his short reply. "We've been searching for days and found nothing. Not even a mention." He sighed again. "I'm beginning to doubt if she even exists at all."

Without even glancing up, Dean could tell that Sam was trying to think of a reply, no doubt something to cheer him up with, however he continued speaking before his brother had the chance to word his reply. "What if she's not this great deity that we've been lead to believe?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, placing his book down on the table, devoting his attention to his brother.

"Well, what if she's something else? Like some sort of super-demon or monster, maybe like Eve was, and that's why we can't find anything about her. Because we've been looking in the wrong place."

"I don't know Dean." Sam's voice was halting and uncertain. "I mean, she managed to send all the leviathan back to purgatory, whilst imprisoned in a different dimension. Not to mention if someone's gone to all this trouble to wipe her from history…"

As he trailed of, Dean's thoughts returned to his earlier suspicions. "You mean God."

Sam nodded, lowering his voice slightly in hope to prevent the two resident angels and demon from hearing. "Yeah, maybe. Remember what Death said, that one day he'd reap even God's soul. So what if by imprisoning Time, he's able to delay his death inevitably, and by hiding her existence he's made sure that no one would find nor release her?"

"I suppose it's possible," Dean said, picking up the large book again. "But surely it would be simpler to imprison Death?"

"Maybe back then it seemed like the best solution."

Dean flicked through another few pages, then as he turned the next one, a much smaller and older looking book slipped from between the pages and landed on the desk with a thud. The larger book had a rectangle shape cut in the middle of its pages that had been used to conceal the smaller book within and for a moment, Dean felt a sense of hope rise within him. _Surely fate wasn't that kind, at least not to them…_

"Dean?" Sam gasped, staring wide eyed at the book. Without answering, Dean dropped the larger book and gingerly wiped away the thick layer of dust that obscured the writing upon the shrivelled leather cover. He studied the unfamiliar markings that had been carved into the leather that were faded and almost unreadable from age. Unbinding the cord that held the book closed, he carefully examined the brittle pages that had become yellowed and faded. Turning back to the cover, he examined the symbol beneath the writing. It was less faded than the rest of the markings, from which he deduced meant that it had been carved into the leather sometime after it was originally written.

Sam stood and walked over to Dean, leaning heavily on the table for support. He glanced over Dean's shoulder, examining the book. Finally, he turned his head towards the main area of the bunker. "Naomi," he called loudly, knowing his voice would carry. "Could you come here for a second?"

As they heard the steady click of heels on wood that announced the approach of the angel, they both shared an apprehensive look fearful that the book they held would simply be another dead end, leading them no further in their quest to find Time.

And fearful of what they'd discover should it be the answer to their search.

 **Only a short chapter this time I know, but I've only just got back from my holiday so I'm still a bit chaotic trying to get back into everyday mode. I hope this chapter keeps you going through until I can post my next one and as always reviews are much appreciated.**


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